More refuse to sit for math than ELA tests

North Fork school district officials are reporting a total of 256 students declined to participate in this year’s state-mandated math assessments, 77 students more than opted out of the English Language Arts assessments in April.

Mattituck-Cutchogue School District assistant superintendent Anne Smith said 592 students in grades 3 through 8 were expected to take the test, but 70 refused. By comparison, only 43 students in that district opted out of the ELA exam.

In Greenport, elementary school principal Joseph Tsaveras said 276 students were eligible to take the math assessments and 71 did not. That’s an increase of 36 opt-outs compared to the ELA.

Southold Elementary School principal Ellen O’Neill said 115 of 347 eligible students opted out of the math assessments in her district. That’s 12 more refusals than the district received for the ELA assessments.

No students in the Oysterponds or New Suffolk elementary school districts opted out of either assessment this year, officials said.